Whoever in marketing thought giving an LTE enabled watch is a good idea needs some training. I'm still laughing at the circumstances.

Marketing 101 - don't highlight your weaknesses.

eSIM's shouldn't be too hard. Over here in AU, all three network operators (and a number of MVNO's) offer eSIM capability... as well as the smart watch 'one number' esims (roaming is disabled on these) too. Watch provisioning is all done within your watch app and is seamless.

Both Optus and Telstra use in-app provisioning which generally makes switching devices quite easy (although Optus caps this to one per 24 hour period from memory). Vodafone still generates QR codes + confirmation codes (they also natively support Apples eSIM transfer feature, the only ones to do so in AU) on demand through their websites self-service portal. 

I know why the NZ Telcos haven't invested too much, but doesn't make it any less sad. (Interestingly Telstra uses IPv6 on their mobile network... https://www.sidn.nl/en/news-and-blogs/australias-telstra-switches-mobile-users-to-ipv6-only )

To be honest I thought I needed e-sim on my watch but in the end it isn't a necessity for me

Everyone is different but considering 99% of the time we have our phones with us I don't think it's the end of the world. Nice to have, yes, a must? No... Not yet I don't think.

cokemaster:

 

eSIM's shouldn't be too hard. Over here in AU, all three network operators (and a number of MVNO's) offer eSIM capability... as well as the smart watch 'one number' esims (roaming is disabled on these) too. Watch provisioning is all done within your watch app and is seamless.

 

Both Optus and Telstra use in-app provisioning which generally makes switching devices quite easy (although Optus caps this to one per 24 hour period from memory). Vodafone still generates QR codes + confirmation codes (they also natively support Apples eSIM transfer feature, the only ones to do so in AU) on demand through their websites self-service portal. 

 

I know why the NZ Telcos haven't invested too much, but doesn't make it any less sad. (Interestingly Telstra uses IPv6 on their mobile network... https://www.sidn.nl/en/news-and-blogs/australias-telstra-switches-mobile-users-to-ipv6-only )

 

It's a pain. An esim is a really good solution for me for my NZ number but it's all too hard with the lack of functionality. 

What's frustrating is it's a solved problem, the telcos just haven't invested to deal with it.

I'd rather the coverage improve first than e-sims tbh but I also agree get with the times telco!

 

To be honest I thought I needed e-sim on my watch but in the end it isn't a necessity for me

The best use case I've found for eSIM'ed watches is going to theme/water parks. You can keep in touch with the different groups without needing to have a prearranged meet up spot & time. 
The other is that schools over here prohibit phones in schools but permit smartwatches (as long as they're in DND mode the entire day and only used for timekeeping during school hours). Can be useful if they miss the bus or got lost etc. (Telstra also sell cheap, dedicated smartwatches for this purpose too).

Otherwise I tend to agree - 99% of the time, I'll have my phone.

I'd rather the coverage improve first than e-sims tbh but I also agree get with the times telco!

From a purely selfish perspective, I'd agree. When I was over in Christmas, there were parts of NZ (Hawkes Bay) where coverage and/or performance seems to have actually degraded.
My folks place has gone from having reasonable 4G coverage to having only 1 bar of 3G (poor voice quality and no data transfer... across all three operators) which has meant that Wifi calling is pretty much runs fulltime there.

I hesitate to ask whether 5G SA is on any of the three operators radar... 

cokemaster:

 

eSIM's shouldn't be too hard. Over here in AU, all three network operators (and a number of MVNO's) offer eSIM capability... as well as the smart watch 'one number' esims (roaming is disabled on these) too. Watch provisioning is all done within your watch app and is seamless.

 

I recently (early Jan) went on a holiday to Rarotonga, I was sitting on my couch at home in AKL, and had a Vodafone Cook islands eSIM on my phone within about 10mins, inc signing up to them as a customer. From what I read and hear, to get an eSIM here we have to physically go into a store.

@JohnK I was in Raro a few months back and got the eSIM online a week before leaving NZ. So simple and when we landed in Raro as the plane taxied to the gate sent off the activation SMS to 888

All working before I got off the plane

When I was in NZ, I was able to port Vodafone AU -> Optus -> Vodafone AU... all on esim and still retain the $5/day roaming throughout.
As long as you pass the ID verification requirements, life is good.

One NZ eSIM is pretty capable:

• You can sign up on a new Pay Monthly plan and get an eSIM for your phone from the get go including online, no need to visit store
• You will need to visit store to get eSIM on PrePay or if you are existing customer moving from physical SIM to eSIM
• Also One NZ lets you reuse the QR code on another phone to redownload that same profile, as long as the eSIM is deleted off the old phone first
• And for watch it's all done over the air without needing to visit a store as long as you are setup for My One NZ mobile app.

heavenlywild:

 

To be honest I thought I needed e-sim on my watch but in the end it isn't a necessity for me

 

Everyone is different but considering 99% of the time we have our phones with us I don't think it's the end of the world. Nice to have, yes, a must? No... Not yet I don't think.

 

You're obviously not a runner. I run some quite long distances and I love the piece of mind that I get from knowing that I can call for help if I have a fall or some other type of accident. It's the main reason why I use an Apple Watch instead of the Garmin Forerunners that are more commonly used by runners. 

I'm not sure why Samsung watch users need it though. I do several marathon events every year and have never seen any runners wearing a Samsung watch.

timmyh:

 

One NZ eSIM is pretty capable:

 

• You can sign up on a new Pay Monthly plan and get an eSIM for your phone from the get go including online, no need to visit store
• You will need to visit store to get eSIM on PrePay or if you are existing customer moving from physical SIM to eSIM
• Also One NZ lets you reuse the QR code on another phone to redownload that same profile, as long as the eSIM is deleted off the old phone first
• And for watch it's all done over the air without needing to visit a store as long as you are setup for My One NZ mobile app.

Having moved to 2D recently, this is one of the items I am slightly annoyed with 2D for. Why not just allow people to move to a new device as they please? Almost feels like a throwback to the CMDA days...

Seems like arbitrarily gate keeping.

I also found it ironic that they "ran out" of eSIMs at the 2D store I was in. Physical eSIM packets, like a normal SIM. One/Voda just generated one on screen and off we went, they also sent a copy to my email so I can move around as I please.

I'll use 2D for a while and see how it goes, but between that and some of the changes in signal in places I go (resulting in dropped or interrupted calls and call quality), it may not last long. The saving grace for them at the moment is carry-over data and that BNZ offer a 15% discount to credit-card customers.

SaskiaDonnell: Hey there, sorry for the delay in response and that I am unable to provide you with a more definitive update yet. We are working hard on our offering for all our customers and will have an update early in the new year.

@SaskiaDonnell We should be due an update by now, surely? It's been over 3 months since your post here. I've still got a disconnected Apple Watch Ultra and it is a little embarrassing to be giving out LTE supported Smartwatches without the ability to connect them don't you think?

alasta:

 

heavenlywild:

 

To be honest I thought I needed e-sim on my watch but in the end it isn't a necessity for me

 

Everyone is different but considering 99% of the time we have our phones with us I don't think it's the end of the world. Nice to have, yes, a must? No... Not yet I don't think.

 

 

You're obviously not a runner. I run some quite long distances and I love the piece of mind that I get from knowing that I can call for help if I have a fall or some other type of accident. It's the main reason why I use an Apple Watch instead of the Garmin Forerunners that are more commonly used by runners. 

 

I'm not sure why Samsung watch users need it though. I do several marathon events every year and have never seen any runners wearing a Samsung watch.

 

I prefer an Apple watch for exactly the same reason - especially now that Garmin have stopped implementing LTE - I just would love to be able to connect it.